


Dragon Whisperer

by AylaPazza



Series: Seeking Out the Ones Who Believe [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hiccup slightly oblivious, Humor, Jack Being an Idiot, M/M, Multi, Normal viking violence, Open Relationships, Teens being teens, Toothless being Toothless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-06 13:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1859334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AylaPazza/pseuds/AylaPazza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Wind has been his only constant companion. It soothes his sorrows, bolsters his spirits, brings him to all the corners of the world. It has been there for him whenever the children who believe in him have forgotten him.</p><p>One boy--and one dragon--is determined to change that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Flight

Jack sped through the air, the Wind granting his feet wings. Sixty years after awakening in the lake, he still only met with people who could see him every decade or so. All of them believed in him at some point in their lives, but eventually they lost the belief as childhood was stripped from their bodies and adulthood made their new mantle. It made his heart ache as he lost those friends, but something in his bones reassured him that there would always be new people, new children to bring joy to.

The Wind was whispering for him to head north. Scandinavia, to be exact. The thought made him grin as he allowed the gusts to usher him to a very special island. Berk was so fascinating! The Vikings were all buff and burly and bushy, and the native animals were the greatest parts. After all, he generally only saw dragons at Berk and the surrounding islands. The dragons that lived around the world were better at hiding from humans, or, like the ones in the Far East, preferred the mountains and lakes.

He landed on the top of a newly made house and eyed the area. Oh, there must have definitely been dragon attacks. None of the buildings were the same as when he was here last winter. Granted, he was early, but Berk was known for nine months of snow and three months of hail, so snow wasn’t too strange at times.

The sound of roaring drew his attention, and he hopped over to see a thick iron door close. The blacksmith of the village was lecturing the teens. “Heh…dragon fighters.” Jack rolled his eyes. “Big deal, not like you can stop them.”

A small figure broke away from the group, catching Jack’s curiosity. The boy was in a very casual walk for some time before he started running. “Hey, wait, I can’t see you if you go in the forest!” He zipped after the lad, staying above but doing his best to keep him in his sights. Jeez, green and brown clothes made for great camouflage, not to mention his hair was the same shade. Ugh, that just made it so much harder!

He touched down on the ground and followed from there after some time. The boy kept going deeper into the forest, until suddenly—he was gone. “Hey!” Jack ran to where he saw the boy disappear, and realized there was a hidden path behind the rocks. His curiosity had grown to mountainous proportions. There was only one thing to do: follow it.

Jack carefully picked his way down, finding himself (after ducking under a shield that was stuck in a crevice) in a small valley. And down in the valley, the boy was playing with—“A dragon…!”

The spirit of winter had always kept a careful eye out for the scaly creatures that lived around the world. Most of them held fire deep in their bellies, and fire plus ice does not make Jack a happy boy. Oh, there were some that were cool, such as the ones in the Far East that controlled the rains for the people. Around the European continent however the types that breathed fire (or lit themselves on fire) were much more common. And terrifying.

The way that this spindly little kid treated the black dragon, like a dear friend as they rolled in the grass, was strangely endearing. He let his staff drape across his shoulder as he leaned against the rock. It was fun to watch them.

When the dragon happened to look his way he stopped with narrowed eyes. Jack stiffened as the big scaly dangerous lizard rolled onto his feet and started to stalk toward him. He was about to fly off when the Viking spoke.

“Hey, Toothless, what’s going on—” The Viking stopped next to the dragon, eyes wide. Jack froze in place as he stared back. “…You’re not from around here,” the brunet said with eyes that slowly narrowed. “Who are you?”

Jack swallowed the gasp that attempted to escape. “You…you can see me?”

The human’s eyebrow went up. “No, I’m talking to the magical floating fish next to you,” he said with a deadpan look that had clearly been perfected over the years. “Of course I can see you. Why would you think otherwise?”

Jack bounced a bit on the balls of his feet, a wide smile startling the human and the dragon. “It’s been so long!” he said, jumping forward. In one bound he was in front of the Viking. The dragon immediately growled, but the human put a hand on his snout to calm him. “Ah, sorry,” Jack quickly said, stepping away just a bit to calm the beast. “I’m Jack.” After a moment of hesitation he put his hand out.

The brunet’s eyebrow was still up, but it was clearly more of curiosity than anything else. “I’m Hiccup. Great name, I know.” He rolled his eyes as he clasped Jack’s hand, before both eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “You’re freezing! Aren’t you cold?”

Jack started laughing, pulling his hand away to scratch the back of his neck. “Well, yeah, but I’m supposed to be. I’m Jack Frost. Ya know, the guy who brings winter and snow and fun times?”

“Not so much fun around here,” Hiccup said, hands on hips. “But wow, Jokul Frosti…so I can blame you for all the times I’ve slipped on ice?” he snarked with a smirk.

The winter spirit laughed. “I guess you could. I’m more snowballs and fun times though. Happened to have the Wind take me here a bit earlier than usual though.” He nodded toward Toothless, whose pupils had rounded properly again as he studied the spirit. “And this guy is?”

“Oh!” Hiccup scratched under the dragon’s chin, getting a purr. “This is Toothless, my best friend. Had a…rough first meeting.” Toothless grumbled and Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Okay, I caught him and was going to kill him but I wouldn’t. Instead I freed him, and after a lot of trial and error we’re best buds. Right, buddy?”

Jack was amused at Toothless’ nod. “Wow, he’s really smart.”

“Oh, most dragons are in their own way,” Hiccup said with an authority that Jack didn’t expect. The confidence that filled him was different from the boy he had seen leaving the training arena in the village. “The problem is, no one has taken the time to watch and listen, unless it’s how to take them down. You learn their mannerisms and customs, you learn the truth. They’re not what everyone’s always thought about them. For example, Toothless is not so much the unholy offspring of lightning and death as the offspring of cuddles and—” He was interrupted by a yelp as Toothless casually swept his tail to take out Hiccup’s legs.

Jack started laughing, leaning against his staff as Toothless looked extremely smug. “I don’t think he likes that description,” he teased.

Hiccup on his part grumbled and rubbed his butt as he stood up. “Brat,” he accused the Night Fury. Said beast gave a look suspiciously like a smirk.

“So,” Jack said, sparking the two to look back at him. “What’s with the saddle stuff, and the vest? You ride him?”

The brunet lit up and hopped over Toothless’ back to reach his other side. “Well, when he crashed he lost his tail fin,” he started with a gesture to the crafted replacement. “He needs his tail to steer him when flying, so I created a new one. Thing is, I have to ride him so he can fly. By using the pedal, I can adjust the tail so it’s the proper position depending on how we’re flying.”

One silver eyebrow went up as a sly grin curled pale lips. “Oh really~?” A cold wind passed through the valley, seeming to caress Jack lovingly before passing. “I wouldn’t mind a demonstration of your engineering prowess, _Hiccup_.”

The brunet’s ears turned red at the intonation. “Look, Vikings name their kids different things to try and scare away gnomes and trolls. I’d rather a more dignified name myself.”

“I dunno, it kind of suits you.” Jack snickered. “It’s better than some names, like Hamish. Besides, you’re small and cute, like a hiccup.”

Hiccup had no idea how to respond to that. The red from his ears crept down to his cheeks however. “Let’s just get in the air,” he managed after a moment or two. One moment he was on the ground, the next he was straddling Toothless.

Jack blinked and rubbed his eyes. “How did you—”

“Lots of practice.” Hiccup smirked as Toothless stretched his wings. “Think you can keep up, Frosty?”

“Oh please, it’s a piece of cake!” The wind returned, lifting Jack a few inches off the ground. “I have the Wind on my side!” He took off into the sky with a whoop of joy.

Hiccup patted Toothless’ side. “Let’s go, bud!” With a giddy roar the wings flapped, and in seconds they were speeding to catch up with the winter spirit. Toothless looked excited to just be in the air, while Hiccup was enjoying the idea of having someone to fly with, someone other than the dragon beneath him.

Jack looked to the side as the sound of leathery flapping hit his ears. “So how long have you been flying?”

“Oh, maybe a month? It’s taken a lot of trial and error,” Hiccup called back with a laugh. “What about you?”

“Oh, just sixty to seventy years,” Jack said casually, rolling so he was flying on his back. “Every decade or so someone can see me, but they’re usually kids. You’re the first who’s…okay how old are you? Twelve? Thirteen?”

“Fourteen,” Hiccup corrected with a bristle.

“Wow, no wonder you’re called Hiccup.”

“I don’t think I like you.”

“Awww, you just don’t know me!” Jack suddenly spun and fell into a steep dive with a laugh. Toothless growled playfully and tucked his wings tight against his body. Hiccup’s feet moved automatically in order to keep the two stable. Note to self, look into some kind of protective eye gear against the wind.

Jack looked up and saw that the two were quickly catching up to him. He grinned and kept the dive going. How far would they let themselves go before pulling out? The longer they stayed in the dive though, the more Jack started to worry. He was just about to yell for them to stop when he realized the ocean was coming up. “Whoa--!” He had to focus on himself to make sure he didn't land hard against the water.

“Whoo-hoo!” Toothless snapped his wings out just right, his claws skimming the water and causing tiny waves of froth in his wake. Hiccup grinned at the stunned Jack. “We’ve been doing this a while,” he said with a faintly smug tone.

Jack wasn’t one to take something like that lying down. “You think you’re a fancy flier? Let’s see you do this!” The Wind grabbed him and pulled him higher into the air. As he flew, little flurries of snow were left in his wake.

Hiccup and Toothless immediately took the challenge. The flurries were fodder for Toothless to zip around, and when Jack sent a design of ice toward them Toothless casually set it on fire. “Oh come on, Toothless!” Hiccup coughed a bit as the steam covered them for a brief moment. “At least it wasn’t a fireball this time.”

“How about a snowball?”

“What are you—!” Hiccup found himself with a faceful of snow. He idly thought to himself that he really should have expected that from the mischievous spirit. Toothless laughed beneath him before letting out a surprised grunt when a snowball hit his own snout.

Jack laughed at the two of them and zipped ahead. “Try and catch me!”

“Oh you are so going to get it!”

The boys flew around the rock spires, their moves growing fancier by the minute. Jack would do a loop, Toothless would do a barrel roll around a spire. Jack would shoot a design of ice along the surface of a spire, Toothless would spit out a shot of plasma and light the spire on fire. It was clear that the two were fighting for dominance of the sky, and all Hiccup could do was make sure Toothless didn’t get hurt.

As they reached the end of the spire forest Toothless shot up into the air. As gravity paused for a moment the loop that kept Hiccup tethered slid out of the hook. Hiccup felt his heart drop first, then his body. “Oh Hel’s skirts, not again!”

Jack felt his heart stop for a moment. Hiccup had said that Toothless needed him to fly. “Hang on!” The Wind sensed his urgency and gave him an extra boost. He watched as the two try to coordinate themselves to get close enough for Hiccup to pull himself back on. Just when Hiccup missed grabbing the saddle a fourth time Jack grabbed him. “Gotcha!” The sensation of heat on his hands was strange, almost painful, yet it was an enjoyable sensation prickling his skin at the same time.

Hiccup used the stability given him to hook his feet into the saddle again. Jack let go and Hiccup immediately worked the pedals. Toothless, panting in relief, was able to straighten himself out and glide along the wind. The brunet took a breath and let it out shakily. “I really have to fix that,” he grumbled. “Uh, thanks Jack.”

The spirit shrugged, trying to hide his relief. “Hey, can’t have the first person to see me in seventeen years to fall to his death the first day,” he tried to say casually.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. “It’s been that long?” The Wind around them had calmed, so it wasn’t such a strain to hear each other. Toothless was mostly gliding and letting the current do the work as he caught his breath.

Jack nodded. “Usually it’s kids who can see me. And most of the time, the older they get the less likely they’ll see me. Everyone…well, they all forgot me by the time they became adults. Some of them manage to remember me, and the Wind takes me back to them…in time to see them one last time, you know?”

Hiccup nodded, frowning for a moment. “Well, I doubt I’ll ever forget you,” he said with a lopsided grin. “I mean, how can I forget the guy who saved me and my best bud?”

Jack laughed a bit, but didn’t let his hopes rise. It always hurt too much when they crashed and burned. “We’ll see, Hic.”

The two of them glided back to the valley, where Toothless promptly curled up in the sun and fell asleep. Hiccup patted his dragon’s nose with a smile. “Sweet dreams, Toothless.” He looked to Jack curiously. “So, how long will you be here?”

Jack shrugged, frowning a bit. “I don’t know. I stay as long as the Wind tells me to. When I’m needed elsewhere, the Wind pulls at me, really insistent. But I always try to come back whenever I can.”

“Well, Berk has nine months of snow, so you should be here a while,” Hiccup pointed out with a laugh. “Or it feels like nine months, anyway.”

“And I try to make that time less bitter and sharp,” Jack added with a grin. “It’s not fun when everything’s too…” He made a gesture as he tried to find the right words. “I soften the winter,” he managed after a bit.

Hiccup was about to respond when he suddenly slipped with a yelp. “Ow! Okay, this is the second time I’ve lost my footing.”

Jack gave Hiccup a sheepish grin, his staff tapping the ice that had spread underneath him as he had spoken. “Sorry about that. Sometimes it gets away from me.”

Hiccup did a funny crab walk to proper grass and stood up, dusting himself off. “Let’s hope you don’t freeze me in place,” he said with a dry smile. “I do have to get back though—the sun’s starting to go down and they’ll be looking for me in the mess hall.”

“Eh, I’ll come with you.” Jack fell into step next to him, the blue cloak fluttering around him. “What else do you do around the village, Hic?”

“I actually work at the forge,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m scrawny, but you don’t have to be big to work the bellows and keep the fire going. Dad apprenticed me to Gobber in the hopes I’d get big and strong like everyone else, instead of…this.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “You just gestured to all of you.”

Hiccup’s lips tugged down as he thought of the disappointed looks he always received from the villagers. “Everyone does.”

“Well, everyone is just stupid.”

Hiccup looked at Jack, surprised to see the annoyed expression on the other’s face. “Well, they’re not exactly the brightest, but—”

“But nothing. Hic—you have done something no one around here has ever done! You caught a Night Fury, then freed him rather than killing him! And on top of that, you’re training him and yourself to work as one unit.” Jack clapped a cold hand on a startled Hiccup’s shoulder. “You, my friend, can fly. So they have no reason to be disappointed in what you’ve done, and most importantly, you have no reason to be disappointed in what you’ve done.”

It took a few moments for what Jack said to sink in, and then a strange smile pulled at Hiccup’s lips. It was strange to him, anyway—he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had ever said words like that to him. The praise from his “dragon fighting skills” felt hollow whenever he heard it, but this was genuine. “Thanks, Jack.”

Jack on his part felt something twinge painfully in his chest. When was the last time anyone had told this kid he was actually needed, or even more wanted? “Hey, if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, let me know and I’ll freeze their helmets to their heads,” he promised. The bright laughter that bubbled from the brunet was payment enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! This is the first fic in a very long series, but I get the feeling everyone will like it! You may also want to throttle me at points, especially at the end.
> 
> Now, I promise the major character death won't be for many chapters yet! It won't even be until...probably the last chapter? Something like that. And the violence is, like I said, usual Viking violence, only what you guys see in the movies and the show! So no worries, it's not as bad as it may seem.
> 
> This wouldn't have been possible if my darling Tinibopper hadn't helped me out. <3> she's the best! I hope you all enjoy!


	2. First Snowfall

The scent of snow was sharp on the gentle wind that night. The youngsters were already snug in their furs, and the teens were stubbornly hanging around the fire in the mess hall. Hiccup stayed silent, watching out the window. He could see Jack zipping around, leaving behind his own special artwork on the rooftops.

When Jack flew into the clouds, there was a faint light shimmering in them. Then, it started to snow.

Hiccup breathed in deeply. The snow had a different smell than the usual sort that fell. It was clean, sweet almost. Now that he met Jokul Frosti, the man behind the legend, he could find the differences in his memory. There was a softness in the snowfall, gentility laced inside each snowflake.

The children that were still awake were poking their heads out of their houses with bright grins. A few of them were sticking their tongues out as well to catch the flakes. Hiccup smiled to himself. They were still innocent, still able to find wonder in everything the world had to offer. Snow meant snowball fights, snow Valkyries, snowmen, games and laughter.

He looked up and watched the flakes drift down. Now and then, he could see different flakes with a special gleam to them. These flakes all found their way to grumbling Vikings. When the flakes hit their noses, they would stop and start laughing.

_Huh, so that’s what they mean by Jokul Frosti nipping at your nose…_

Hiccup was so deep in thought he didn’t realize that Astrid had wandered over to lean against the wall on the window’s other side. “There’s something special about the snow tonight.”

He jumped in surprise. “I—ah, yeah, I guess. It’s the first snow of the season, after all.”

Astrid smirked a bit and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Thank you for summing that up, Captain Obvious.”

Hiccup bristled for a moment before realizing there was a strange, almost playful tone to Astrid's voice. Maybe she was affected by the snowy magic too. Still, he didn't let his guard down. "Well, you asked. And who am I to deny you an answer?"

Astrid was about to retort when a snowball suddenly hit her dead in the face. Hiccup’s eyes were wide as she slowly wiped it off. “Alright, who threw that?!” she yelled, sticking her head out the window. Hiccup, looking out the window at the side, could see Jack smirking as he twirled his staff. When Jack caught the brunet’s eye he grinned and winked.

Hiccup wasn’t sure if he wanted to die of embarrassment or laugh at Astrid’s expression. On the one hand, he would die quickly. On the other, if he laughed it would lead to an excruciatingly slow death. He settled for a quick grin at Jack before schooling his face back to confusion. “Maybe it was a kid,” he suggested. Astrid simply growled a bit and stomped away.

Jack flew back to the window, laughing still. “Benefit of being invisible to most, you can do things like that.”

“What was that for?” Hiccup hissed, keeping his voice down.

"I told you, if anyone tried to tell you anything I’d freeze their helmets to their heads,” Jack chirped cheerfully. “But she doesn’t have a helmet, so I went with the next best thing.”

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder and realized he was the only one left in the hall. That left him free to let out a small laugh. “Her face _was_ priceless. You didn’t have to.”

Jack blinked in confusion. “But I wanted to.” It was said so simply and honestly that Hiccup couldn’t find the words to rebut. “Anyway! Who is she, anyway?”

Hiccup smiled a bit. “That’s Astrid. She’s one of the best fighters. She’s better than me, anyway.” He let out a wistful sigh. “But she wouldn’t notice me—well, not the way I want to be.”

The other lad scratched at his cheek, sitting on his crook as if it were a broomstick and he were a witch. “What, you like her or something?”

"Well…kind of yeah. Okay a lot, but like I said, I wouldn’t be noticed. I’m a scrawny talking fishbone,” Hiccup added with a self-deprecating laugh. “No girl would want to date a guy they can lift over their head with one hand.”

Jack huffed and crossed his arms with annoyance. “There’s a lot more to you than just the fact you’re little. Besides, you said you’re fourteen. I’m sure you’ll get some more meat on your bones!”

Hiccup shrugged. “The way my dad acts, I don’t think it’ll really happen. Maybe when I get better with Toothless he and I will just fly off, somewhere without the judgment and stuff.”

Jack was quiet for a bit. “…You’d really just run away?”

Another shrug. “I don’t really know. I’m not a Viking, Jack. I don’t fit in at all. The only way people are liking me now is because I’m using what I know from Toothless on the other dragons, and that’s not even fighting!” Hiccup ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh. “Here, your worth is measured by the dragons you fight and kill. I…I don’t want to be a killer. But that’s what people expect of me, or at least hope I’ll be.”

“Then don’t be what they expect,” Jack said simply. He grinned a bit. “The best things in life come in surprise packages. That’s what North taught me, when I first met him. Ah, another mystical, I’ll tell you more about him later,” he quickly added when he saw Hiccup’s curious expression. “The thing is, you gotta believe in yourself,” he pressed. “You don’t want to be a dragon killer? Then don’t be one. Be the best dragon trainer in the world instead. Keep making those cool contraptions and stuff. Don’t let the world dictate who you are.”

Hiccup looked off to the side, scratching at his cheek as he took the words into his mind. “…When I’m ready, I will,” he said, looking back at Jack. “Just not yet.”

Jack grinned widely, almost with pride, and Hiccup felt his heart skip for just a moment. “You better get ready then.”

By the forge, a man with specially made prosthetics watched the two with a wide grin. Gobber had a feeling that Hiccup was talking to Jokul Frosti. Who knows, maybe he’d help the poor lad with his self-confidence. He could use an extra dose of it. The Wind wrapped around him and he shivered. “Best be getting meself ta bed, before the trolls come for me socks,” he said to himself with a chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, how did this fic get so many hits in a week?! Thank you to the lovely people who left me kudos, and to the person who commented, I think you'll really like what comes in the future!
> 
> Next chapter is Snoggletog! So get your jingle prosthetics ready!


	3. A Very Festive Snoggletog

Toothless poked his nose out of his little cave with a snort. It didn’t matter that his inner fire kept him warm even in the cold months. He still wasn’t a fan of the cold and snow. With a stretch and a yawn he padded out to the edge of the small lake. It was iced over, but that was no issue for him.

A quick spit and the ice in a good ten foot radius melted. Toothless chuckled to himself and waited at the edge for the fish to roam closer to the hole. As he sat, he observed the little valley that was his current home.

Snow covered the rocks and trees in a gentle blanket. He could smell the magic laced within the white stuff. Whenever the snow-wind-ice boy came to the north, the world’s scent changed. The only way that the dragon could explain it, if granted the ability to speak with words, would be that it made him feel truly alive on an entirely different level.

The trees that had slowly been losing their leaves were now iced over, with icicles creating elongated chandeliers. The reflections that were scattered about were very tempting. In fact, Toothless couldn’t help himself from pouncing at a few specks of light that moved with the wind. Snow flew up from under his feet as he landed in a drift. He chuckled to himself and hopped from drift to drift.

“Looks like someone’s having fun,” a teasing voice called out. Toothless’ head immediately popped up and he bounded over to Hiccup. “You’re looking good, bud! I was worried how you’d handle the snow.” Hiccup scratched in front of an ear as Toothless purred, holding up the basket of fish. “I brought you goodies~”

Toothless’ ears perked up and he bounced in place as Hiccup put the basket down. Once the fish spilled out he eagerly started in on breakfast. “There you go, bud.”

“Huh, I always wondered what dragons ate.” The brunet looked up at where Jack was sitting on a branch. “I always thought they ate princesses,” he joked.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “That’s just stories from the mainland. Dragons mainly eat fish around here, and sheep. The smaller ones eat rodents.”

Jack grinned and let himself hang from his knees. “You’re certainly an expert on all things scaly and fiery.”

“Well, it’s hard not to end up an expert when you’ve been observing a dragon for over a month now.” Hiccup chuckled a bit as he wandered over to Jack’s tree. “You know a lot about me, but I don’t really know much about you. What’s your story?”

Ice blue eyes blinked in surprise. “My story?” He flipped off the branch and landed on his feet. “Well, there’s…there’s not much to tell. I woke up in a frozen over pond, and the Moon told me my name was Jack Frost. I don’t remember anything before that though…” Jack looked pensive for a few moments before shaking it off. “But ever since that night I’ve been flying around, making it snow and stuff. Every now and then kids can see me, like I said before. But otherwise, it’s kind of a simple story. Nothing nearly as exciting as yours!”

Hiccup blinked in surprise. “Me? Exciting? I think you’re looking for a different adjective.”

“Oh come on, you’re training a dragon! It’s the first time anyone’s ever done that around here!” Jack beamed at Hiccup. “That’s really exciting!”

The brunet chuckled sheepishly, scratching his cheek almost shyly. “I guess it is…I’m just so used to not really standing out, except whenever I make some kind of mistake. It’s the first time I can say I did anything that could be considered really…amazing.”

Jack frowned and crossed his arms. “We have to work on your confidence issues.”

Toothless licked his chops once he was finished with the fish and sat back on his haunches. He watched his rider and the boy who smelled like winter curiously, a few extra swipes of his tongue across his chops for good measure. There was a feeling floating around the two as they talked, but the dragon wasn’t exactly sure what it was. But it was clear that flight-trust-friend enjoyed snow-ice-wind’s company, even if he was sarcastic about it.

The dragon stretched with a groan and started walking around the clearing. The snow made him feel like a little hatchling again. He hopped up onto a thick log, then onto a rock. He was able to use the vantage point to observe the other two. He hummed a bit to himself. Snow-ice-wind seemed to be getting more agitated the more he tried to convince flight-trust-friend of something he seemed to feel was important.

Toothless rolled his eyes and, smiling to himself, jumped off the rock into the high snowdrift next to the two. Both of them yelped, and he laughed to himself. “Toothless!” The dragon simply grinned at flight-trust-friend before using his tail to sweep him into another pile of snow.

Snow-ice-wind started laughing. “He’s got the right idea!” The cold pat on his snout made Toothless twitch, then sneeze. Freezing skin plus heated scales do not mix. “Whoops, sorry Toothless.” Toothless gave him a blank stare, and then swept Jack’s feet out from under him with a relish at the yelp he received. “Oh, you’re gonna get it!”

Toothless let out the sound that constituted for dragon laughter and hopped away. Snow-ice wind was about to follow when flight-trust-friend tackled him. “No way, Toothless is on my side!”

“He took you out first!”

Toothless sat back on his haunches to watch as the two humans wrestled in the snow. He breathed out a cloud of smoke, smugness evident on his face. He never did enjoy tension—he was a rather easy going dragon. Flight-trust-friend was happy with him, but seemed to always hate going back to the wood-caves where he lived. Snow-ice-wind made flight-trust-friend happy in a similar way that Toothless did.

Flight-trust-friend gave him the sky back. Now he wanted to give something back in return.

* * *

“Hey bud! How’re you doing?” Hiccup scratched a content Toothless’ head with a chuckle. “It’s Snoggletog season!” He received a confused purr in return. “It’s our Yule,” he started, sitting on a cleared off log. Toothless settled in front of him with big green eyes focused on the boy. “It used to just be called Yule, but according to Elder Gothi it changed several generations ago. Apparently the chief at the time, Chief Bodkin, was so drunk he said happy Snoggletog instead of Yule. It stuck, so now we celebrate Snoggletog.”

“So that’s why North’s always a bit grumpy after coming here.”

Hiccup jumped and looked up at a smirking Jack. “Jeez, it’s like you come out of the shadows or something!”

Jack looked perturbed for a moment. “The shadows hide worse, Hic. Trust me on that.” He ignored the questioning look and walked down the branch. “But don’t worry about that. You’re safe for now from the Nightmares.”

“Nightmares?”

“Nightmares, with a capital N. Everyone has bad dreams, but there are always those few ones that are the worst, that make you scared to even sleep again.” Jack didn’t look happy, but he knew that Hiccup would just keep asking until he gave in. The boy was too curious for his own good sometimes. “They’re the ones that take your greatest fears, and twist them into monsters. You can thank Pitch for that.”

Hiccup tilted his head to the side, as did Toothless. “Pitch?”

Jack looked over and chuckled a bit at how the two looked so identical. “Yeah, Pitch Black. Also known colloquially as the Boogie Man.”

Hiccup looked startled. “You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.”

It made sense though, the more Hiccup thought about it. Jack was clearly real, and from what he had said before there were several different immortal beings around the world. Who was to say that the Boogie Man—or _Såmannen av Frykt_ —Sower of Fear—wasn’t either? “So he makes Nightmares?”

“More like he intensifies the ones you have, or takes a good dream from Sandy and twists it,” Jack explained. “He’s bad news, Hic. If you ever see him, don’t even try to confront him. Just run and hide, and pray he doesn’t find you.”

Hiccup was quiet for a moment, before he started laughing. Jack looked offended. “I’m being serious!”

“No, I know, it’s just…that’s what the Book of Dragons says about Night Furies.”

Jack blinked a few times. “…Oh.”

Hiccup stood up and brushed a bit of snow off his vest. “I have to help with the Snoggletog preparations. You can add your special ice sculptures,” he teased.

“Hey, I happen to have the best ice sculptures this side of the Northern hemisphere!”

“Hemisphere? I thought the earth’s flat.”

“When you’ve flown as far and as high as I have, you see that the earth has a curve to it,” Jack explained. He used the tip of his staff to draw a circle, doing some vague sketches of land. “See, this is where you are,” he said, pointing to a spot too small to actually draw Berk. He drew a second circle with different land masses. “And the farther you go in one direction, the more you see, until you end up back where you started! The earth is round, like a big sphere! It’s the only explanation as to why you can keep going west and end up back home, coming from the east, instead of falling over the edge of the world.”

Hiccup’s eyes were wide as he looked down at the drawings. “Wow…this…this changes everything! Everything we’ve known about the world is wrong!”

Jack laughed a bit. “Yeah, but don’t go telling anyone yet. I don’t think today’s civilization is ready for this bit of news.”

“Oh, right. I’d end up right back to the bottom, only this time with the new label of insane,” Hiccup said with an eye roll.

“I dunno, I think you could be called insane already by training a Night Fury.” He waved off Toothless’ questioning purr. “Nothing about you, fireball.”

Hiccup grinned and used his boot to erase the evidence, looking back up at Jack. “Tell me more about the world! It’ll keep me busy while I help with cleaning vegetables for the feast.”

“Alright, I’ll save the damsel again, this time from boredom.”

“I am not a damsel!”

“Don’t worry Hic, I’m here in case you swoon!”

* * *

“What the hell is that?”

“It’s our Snoggletog tree.”

“Why is it decorated in shields?”

“What else would we decorate it, dragon skulls?”

“Well, it’s not even a tree! It’s a tree you built out of wood!”

“If we cut a tree down for the sole purpose of Snoggletog, we can’t exactly reuse it,” Hiccup explained with a bit of exasperation. “With the boards, after Snoggletog’s over we can at least take it apart and then reuse the wood for dragon attacks. We don’t usually get attacks during the winter, though.”

Jack looked off to the side and raised an eyebrow. “And that guy?”

Hiccup looked and laughed. “Gobber just really likes the season.” He waved at the blacksmith, who waved back with his bells prosthetic and winked. Hiccup blinked. “I wonder what was that for…”

Jack realized that Gobber was grinning and staring straight at him. “…Hic. I think he can actually see me.”

Hiccup looked from him, and back to Gobber. Gobber winked again and saluted them both, before focusing on his original task at hand. Apparently he was the one in charge of decorating the Viking helmets with the youngsters. “Well…he’s always been the one to insist on trolls stealing socks. I’m not all that surprised, actually.”

Jack fidgeted nervously, suddenly feeling the need to get away for a bit. “Uh, I’ll be back, okay? I just have to take care of something.”

“Oh, yeah, go ahead.” Hiccup gave Jack a small wave as the winter spirit pushed off the ground with the Wind at his back.

It was Snoggletog Eve when Jack came back, and he made sure to go through the clouds first. Snoggletog deserved a sweet snowfall, one that promised magic and fun with each flake. His job done, he let the Wind gently guide him toward the cove where Toothless was. Touching down, he saw that Hiccup was with Toothless. “Well, you two look cute,” he teased.

Hiccup turned around to face Jack with a wide grin. “I had to make sure Toothless was part of the festivities!” Whereas Hiccup had a red cap with white fuzz around it, Toothless had on a modified Viking helmet with the horns wrapped in pine branches. “You’re just in time, I’m giving Toothless his Snoggletog gift.”

Jack felt something inside drop. _Shit, I forgot a gift for Hic!_ “Oh? Whatcha get him, scale warmers?” he joked.

Hiccup rolled his eyes with a smile. “He’s his own heater. Blankets and such are useless for him.” He picked up a roll of fabric that was lying next to him. “Except this one!” He unfurled it, revealing a crimson saddle blanket with the symbol for the Strike class of dragon stitched in black in the corner of the fabric. “See, Toothless, the symbol looks like you! Maybe the guy who wrote the Book of Dragons saw you once but didn’t realize it!”

Toothless sniffed it, then eagerly nipped at it with his gums. “Alright, alright, let me put it on!” Hiccup moved so he could carefully drape the blanket over the area where the saddle would sit. “Hey, it’s perfect measurements!” Toothless wiggled a bit in place with glee and nuzzled his best friend with a loud purr that Hiccup could feel in his bones. “Aw, bud, I love you too.” He stroked the scales and looked over at Jack. “Oh, your gift is back at home,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I didn’t realize you’d be back so soon.”

Jack laughed, trying to keep it from sounding awkward. “It’s alright. I don’t have your gift on me either. But tomorrow’s Snoggletog Day, right? I can give it to you then!”

“It’ll have to be tomorrow night.” Hiccup wrinkled his nose in distaste. “There’s a huge Snoggletog feast and everyone is expected to go. Can’t really slip out until everyone’s drunk and half of them are singing obnoxiously and the other half are snoring obnoxiously.”

“Well, that sounds like Vikings,” Jack teased. “Obnoxious all around!”

Hiccup put his hands on his hips. “Oh, so I’m obnoxious?”

“Eh…” Jack made a so-so motion with his hand. “You’re too small to be obnoxious.” He didn’t expect the sudden snowball to the face. “Hey, that’s my job!”

“You were too slow!” Hiccup laughed and quickly dove for cover when Jack tossed a snowball at him. “Nope, missed me!”

“Oh, you are going down!”

Toothless rolled his eyes. The two got into way too many snowball fights for his liking.

* * *

By the time Hiccup had stumbled out of the mess hall it was late in the night, the moon was high in the sky, and he himself was giggling now and then. His father had insisted on him having a glass of spiced mead, saying he was officially a man and he had to start somewhere. He had three glasses, but considering the size of the mugs and how tiny Hiccup was, it was no wonder he was a little tipsy.

He made it to his house with only a few stumbles, one slip, and a very cheerful apology to a post he knocked into. He didn’t even bother going inside, he just sprawled out on the front porch with a grin and a light sheen of pink across his features from a combination of exposure to the elements, good food and drink, and good cheer. “I love Snoggletog.”

“Wow, you look...wow, I didn’t think I’d ever see you like this!” Jack laughed as he approached, staff over his shoulder and a package under his arm. “Glad I stayed for this!”

Hiccup lifted his head and waved lazily at the frost spirit. “Hey, Jack! Happy Snoggletog!”

“Happy Snoggletog to you too.” Jack let himself plop on the porch next to Hiccup, grinning. “Just how much did you drink?”

“Ahhh, three pints? Or was it more than a pint? I’m not sure! But it was spiced mead, and there was a bit of ale, and the feast of course!” Hiccup pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his face with a small laugh. “Oh, I wish Toothless was here though. He’d get a kick out of everything!”

Jack patted Hiccup’s back. “Ah, one day! Don’t worry, soon this village will be teeming with pet dragons and everyone will be riding one! Oh, before I forget!” He offered the package wrapped in bits of fabric to the brunet. “Here, happy Snoggletog, proper now!”

Hiccup curiously unwrapped the fabric scraps, only for his eyes to widen. “Whoa…” He made sure to hold the ice sculpture with the fabric, so as not to freeze his hands. “Is this Toothless?”

“Yeah, just something I made. And it won’t melt, not even in the hottest summer, or by dragon flame. I tested it with one of Toothless’ shots,” Jack added with a grin. “You like it?”

“I love it! I’ll have to keep it hidden somewhere safe, but I love it!” Hiccup stood up quickly, swaying for just a moment and laughing a bit. “Okay, fishbones and alcohol do not do well together.”

The frost spirit smirked. “I wish I could have this saved on some kind of record so I could see this over and over. Runestones wouldn’t capture the moment right.”

“Oh, and-and I bet you have no problem with the spiced mead, eh?” Hiccup laughed as he made it inside with only one trip over a crack in the floor. Jack followed him inside, checking the building out as Hiccup went to his small ‘bedroom’. Then Jack had to dodge a pillow, a blanket, a chicken, and four knives (Why does Hic have a chicken in his room??). “Aha!” The brunet pulled a rolled up package from behind his bed, handing it to Jack. “Happy Snoggletog! I hope I got the right size and stuff.”

Jack eagerly unwrapped the roll and his grin turned into confusion. “What is it?”

Hiccup laughed a bit and took the leather holster. “It’s for your staff. Uh, can I?” Jack hesitantly handed it over--no one had ever touched it except for him, and without it in his hand he felt naked. Hiccup carefully slid it inside the roll of leather and used the straps to cinch it just tight enough that it wouldn’t fall out. “See? You can put it in here and swing it over your shoulder so that you can have both hands free when you need it.”

Jack took his staff back and examined the leather properly. He could see little snowflakes etched into the leather, and he realized this must have taken Hiccup a long time to get the details, considering the size. “Wow, Hic...thank you.”

Hiccup grinned. “Happy Snoggletog, Jack.” A yawn startled him, even as he hid it behind his hand. “Okay, I think the mead’s putting me to sleep,” he chuckled a bit.

Jack laughed softly and gave Hiccup a two-fingered salute, the staff slung over his shoulder. “Night, Hic. See ya around.” He left the Viking to get settled, letting the Wind give him a boost so he could hop up onto a rooftop. The moon was bright and round, and he felt peaceful.

“Well, Jack, I didn’t expect to see you!”

Jack jumped and turned, only to relax. “Hey, North. I thought you came on Snoggletog Eve.”

The Guardian chortled and shook his head, leaning on his sleigh. “Nyet, I come Snoggletog Day! Gives Vikings something to look forward to after feast. What brings you here?”

“Oh, you know, just doing the usual winter thing.”

North raised a thick eyebrow with a twinkle in his eye. “And the young Haddock?”

Jack stiffened a bit. “We’re just friends, North,” he said with a small bite in his tone.

North laughed and waved it off. “Not what I meant. I meant, he’s older and yet he believes in you. Hiccup, he very special. He trained that dragon, da?”

“You know about Toothless?”

“Of course! I am Santa, I know all!” North laughed, a deep belly-shaking laugh that even made Jack smile with its infectious manner. “Oh! I almost forgot.” He tossed Jack a present. “I just finished Berk, I’m off to the next village. Happy Snoggletog!” He wrinkled his nose for a moment. “Snoggletog, pah!”

Jack snickered and waved to North as the Guardian flew off, then looked down at the gift. He unwrapped it only to stare at the picture in surprise. It was an etching in leather of Jack and Hiccup, sitting next to each other and laughing. Toothless was curled up in the background. “...Wait, where am I even supposed to put this?” The etching suddenly rolled itself up tightly, until it was thin enough to slip into his cloak pocket. Jack couldn’t help but whistle, impressed. “He’s always been good at things like this,” he chuckled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet Mother Theresa on a Mercedes Benz, I had no idea this fic would get such popularity in just two weeks! I'm glad everyone likes it, I have about half of the whole thing written up in a rough draft! But because the fic series itself is going to end up being so long, I'm debating on whether I should update twice a week, perhaps. Suggestions?
> 
> And j99450 pointed out that Gobber is seeming more of a father-figure than Stoick is. It's going to seem like that at first, but you'll see during the later chapters that the dynamic between Stoick and Hiccup will change into a more positive father-son relationship. Gobber sees Hiccup as more of a nephew, but he's doing his best to provide the support that Stoick is (currently) failing at doing so.
> 
> But the story will show plenty of growth in everyone! So I hope you're looking forward to what's coming next!


	4. First Farewell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, we're at four chapters already! I'm so glad this has become a big hit. I hope the others in the fic series will end up as popular! Well, here we are! Enjoy! I may start posting chapters like every four days, rather than weekly. Might just make this go by faster in a way! Yeah, I think I'll do that from now on.
> 
> And here we go!

Jack hovered over the village with a tired hum. The snow hadn’t lasted long, but he wasn’t just the guy who made it snow. He was the guy who brought frosty designs to the buildings around the village. The one bad thing about lingering around Berk so long was that he could feel the Wind start to pull at him. He had tried to placate it with going to other villages and islands around Scandinavia, since with the help of the Wind it didn’t take long to cloak nearby areas with snow and return to hang out with Hiccup. But it was still nagging at him. It was getting close to the time he’d have to leave.

His mind wandered over to the thought of the brunet, and something in his chest skipped for a moment. He...really didn’t want to leave Berk. Not yet, anyway. Hiccup was sarcastic, quick, clever, and when the two of them hung out in the little valley that Toothless lived in he was able to really just relax, be himself. It was a shame that he couldn’t be like that at the village. He wanted to follow Hiccup around, since he was essentially the only one who could see him, but...well, the last time he tried to bother Hiccup he scared the Nadder that was in the training arena.

Flying Nadder spikes aren’t fun to dodge.

So for the last two months Jack had been content to bounce between the surrounding villages and Berk, hanging out with Hiccup and Toothless on the flights around the island and playing around. Still, the Wind was starting to grow unsettled. It meant that his time at Berk was almost done. He supposed he should be grateful he was able to stay for so long.

When he spotted a frantic Hiccup pacing back and forth in the valley muttering to himself, Jack had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Hic? You alright?”

“No, I’m not alright!” Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, a slightly panicked expression on his face. “Dad came back last month from the last voyage to find the dragons’ nest, right? So, I’m still in dragon training but we’re almost done. And the year’s almost over.”

Jack raised one peppered eyebrow. “...Okay, so?”

“They’re going to ring in the new year with the graduation of the trainees!”

“...Oh! Wait, doesn’t that mean--”

“The one who’s considered top of the class has to…” Hiccup swallowed worriedly. “They have to take out a dragon. And I’m suddenly on par with Astrid, so there’s a possibility I’m going to end up top of the class!”

Jack’s eyes widened and he moved closer to the slowly panicking boy. “Hey, Hic, relax.” He grabbed the other’s arms to get him to stop moving. “Easy, now! Just breathe.” He waited for Hiccup’s breathing to slow a little bit before continuing. “Right now, it’s an if. And if you are picked, what will you do?”

Hiccup chewed at his lip for a couple of moments. “...Can’t I run off? With you?” He saw Jack’s eyes grow in surprise and he hastened to explain. “I mean, you’re pretty much my only Common Language-speaking friend, and everyone else here is just, it’s like hero worship! Just because I can understand them and ‘take them down’ when all it is is just knowing how to make them relax half the time! And I don’t--I’m nothing like my village! I’ve never belonged, I’ve never been accepted, because I’m not one of them. I’ve always wanted to be, but I’m finally accepting I’m not a Viking. And...I’d rather spend my time with someone who does know and understand me than with a crowd of people who only take things at face value without bothering to see who I am. Someone who actually likes...this.”

“You need to stop gesturing to all of you.”

“But this is all I am, Jack. A fishbone who can understand dragons.”

The winter spirit sighed and gave Hiccup’s shoulders a squeeze. “Instead of running away, kid...why not try to show them the truth? When you fight the dragon, show them that they’re not creatures from hell. Maybe by leading through example, you can change things.”

Hiccup looked doubtful, but there was a spark of hope in his eye. “Do you think that could work?”

Jack gave Hiccup a bright grin. “Have I ever been wrong?” He pouted at the deadpan stare he received. “Don’t go listing the few times I was wrong.”

Hiccup snickered a bit and pulled away to walk toward Toothless. “Well...I’ll try it. Hopefully it’ll work. If it fails though I’m leaving with you.”

Jack winced a bit. “Ah...yeah, speaking of leaving...I’m probably going to have to leave soon. Like, tomorrow soon.”

Hiccup felt his body tense up as he turned to face the older teen. “What? Why?”

“I’m Jack Frost, Hic. The Wind’s getting pretty annoyed that I’ve been here for so long.” As if on cue a breeze, more angry than relaxing, briskly swept through the valley for a few seconds. “I can probably stay for one more day...maybe two at the most.”

“You can’t stay for the graduation…?”

“I wish I could.” Seeing the brunet’s face fall made the winter spirit frown, and he put a finger under Hiccup’s chin so their eyes could meet. “Hey, I may not be here physically, but I’ll still be supporting you! Now come on, how about we take a flight? Just to relax, no big flying maneuvers. I won't even throw any snowballs at you!"

Hiccup couldn't help but laugh a little bit. “Alright. I’m trusting you this time, but you throw a snowball and I’m never going to believe you won’t play any tricks again.”

Jack pressed a hand to his chest. “You wound me! Okay, I promise, no tricks. Actually, there’s a little island maybe a twenty-minute flight away where we can just chill. No pun intended.”

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the “innocent” grin on Jack’s face. “That was totally intended."

“Okay, maybe a little bit.” Jack laughed and let the Wind lifted him into the air, waiting for Hiccup to climb into Toothless. “Come on, it’s this way!” The Wind, sensing that they needed the time to relax, was gentle as it ushered them through the sky. Toothless purred, pleased with the fact he could mostly glide.

Upon landing on the island the familiar wood-honey scent of dragon nip struck their noses. Toothless immediately bounced into the grass and rolled in it with a delighted groan. Hiccup laughed a little bit and let himself flop backwards onto the thick cushion. “He loves this stuff. It’s got a pretty nice scent.”

“I wonder if you could put it in a pipe and smoke it,” Jack joked as he plopped next to Hiccup. The two lay there in a companionable silence for some time. Toothless had been curled up next to them and napping for a good twenty minutes by the time Hiccup broke the silence.

"Hey, Jack?"

"Yeah, Hic?"

"I was wondering something. There's you, and you said that the Boogie Man is real. So that would mean there are others, right?"

Jack chuckled a bit from his spot next to Toothless. "Oh yeah, loads! On an island farther south--way farther--there's a guy called a leprechaun. He's the size of a kid, always wears green, and he brings good luck to people who need it. Supposedly, if you follow the rainbow, you'll find the pot of good that keeps all his good luck."

Hiccup lifted himself up on his elbows to look at Jack. "Did you?"

"Almost! Rainbows are tricky though, they only last so long." Jack laughed a bit. "He thought I was going to steal it. Had to explain I was just naturally curious."

Hiccup shook his head with a small laugh himself. "Who else?"

"Oh man, Hiccup, there's so many! There's lots of minor spirits that are more of a cultural immortal than anything else. On the other side of the world there's a groundhog that decides when I'm leaving and spring is to start by whether or not he can see his shadow--long story--and in the Far East there's a phoenix that will appear in people's dreams when they're close to despair. She reminds them that it's not hopeless, and they have to remember there's still good in the future for themselves."

Hiccup nodded slowly. "...what's a groundhog and a phoenix?"

Jack snickered a bit. "A groundhog's a woodland creature. Big rodent basically. Next time I get a good look at him, I'll make sure to memorize what he looks like. A phoenix, however, is a beautiful bird of gold and red feathers. Every century--or is it millenium, I'm not sure--they set themselves on fire and are reborn of the ashes. It's a very powerful symbol to the people there."

"Wow...what about you? You're not exactly just a cultural spirit."

"Yeah..." Jack fiddled with his staff, staring up at the clouds passing by overhead. "I don't know. I wish I knew who I was before the pond, though. I'm not the only spirit that goes around the world, though."

Hiccup tilted his head curiously, as did Toothless who had woken from his nap in the sun. "There are others?"

Jack chuckled a bit. "There's the Sandman--oh, you and I have to stay up one night to watch his Dream Sand. Sandy, he sends this special sand, it’s a beautiful golden color, and he sends it to all the children around the world. It gives them happy dreams, good dreams. Pitch can sometimes turn them bad, but from what I heard he can’t really do it that well. Sandy’s put him in his place plenty of times.”

“So there’s Pitch, the Sandman…” Hiccup shifted so he was leaning against Toothless’ side. “Who else?”

Jack grinned. “Every year you get gifts for Snoggletog, right?” Hiccup nodded slowly in response. “Okay, it’s not actually Odin leaving you gifts. It’s North. His name is Nicholas St. North. Some places call it Christmas, but that’s because of their religion, it’s something called Christianity. Not gonna lie, never paid much attention. Something about how there’s only one God, this guy they call Jesus Christ who’s God’s son died for their sins and was born on Christmas, and stuff like that. I don’t understand it much though.”

“Well, next time you pass them, listen!” Hiccup said with a laugh. “The idea of there being only one god, that’s really interesting...think you can get me more information about it?”

“I’ll do my best,” Jack said with a grin. “But anyway, so North’s the guy who brings you gifts. He lives up at the North Pole, where he’s always working in his workshop. Never could get in, though...stupid yetis.”

“Yetis?”

“I’ll get you a picture. I bet Phil will even sign it.” He grinned as Hiccup snickered. “Then there’s the Tooth Fairy, she collects teeth from kids and gives them money. She’s really excitable and is always really hyper. Also looks like a bird, with all the feathers. But she’s really nice, the few times I’ve run into her. Always happy to say hi, and I am pretty her little helper fairies like me.” He smirked. “I think it’s my good looks.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes with a crooked grin. “It’s not that your teeth actually look like freshly fallen snow or anything like that, right?”

“Nope! I’m just devilishly handsome!” Jack and Hiccup laughed together before Jack cleared his throat. “And then there’s the Easter Bunny. He comes around every Easter--it’s another Christian holiday--and leaves colored eggs for the kids to find. I don’t get the point of it, but...we don’t exactly get along well.”

“Did you freeze a hunt or two?”

“No! ...Maybe...more than two.” Hiccup groaned as Jack grinned. “Hey, Easter Sunday sometimes happens when it’s still winter! Why should I get in trouble for doing my job?”

“Did the kids enjoy it?”

“Oh, they loved it! Egg hunt and snowball fights? They had a blast! But Bunny is always complaining and trying to hit me with his boomerangs.”

Hiccup blinked twice. “His what?”

Jack laughed a little bit as he sat up. “Well, for one thing, Bunny’s about six feet tall, got a really funny accent, and when he has to fight he uses boomerangs.” He started to draw out Bunny in the dirt next to them with a grin. “I call him a kangaroo--that’s a big creature with huge feet, a pouch for its young, and they pack a wollop if you anger them. Their tails are so strong they can lean back against them!” He sketched a quick doodle of a kangaroo in the dirt in front of them.

Hiccup looked over the drawings. “Well, I’ve seen better--”

“Hey, no making fun of my art skills!”

“I didn’t say they were awful,” he added with a laugh. “It sounds so cool, though! Maybe one day Toothless and I can travel with you.”

Jack’s smile seemed almost false when he returned Hiccup’s. “We’ll see,” was all he was able to say.

* * *

Jack had promised Hiccup to say goodbye before he left, which was sadly enough the day before the final dragon fighting class. Jack fidgeted with the leather still wrapped around his staff. “So, uh...the Wind’s been getting really insistent,” he said after a few awkward moments. “So, I guess, I’ll see you next winter. Hopefully.”

Hiccup nodded with a small smile. “I hope so, anyway. And hopefully by then I’ll have changed everyone’s minds on dragons.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you,” Jack reassured him with a grin. There were a few more moments of silence where the two of them weren’t sure what to say. The frost spirit finally broke it. “Well, I’ll be heading out. See ya!”

Before he could take off Hiccup had grabbed his hand. “Wait!” Hiccup floundered for words, then just threw his arms around Jack in a tight hug. The older teen stiffened in shock. “Just...thanks. For being my friend.”

Jack hesitantly wrapped his arms around the smaller teen. “Y...you’re welcome.” They broke apart and gave each other nervous smiles. Then the white-haired lad pulled away with a more normal grin, nodded to Hiccup, then looked up at the sky. “Wind! Take me home!”  The cold Wind immediately came rushing through the cove, curling around Jack and escorting him into the sky.

Hiccup watched Jack fly off, a whoop echoing through the sky. “He’ll be back,” he told Toothless. Whether he was trying to convince the dragon or himself, he wasn’t sure.

As Jack flew off to the next land that needed his touch, his grin fell into a conflicted frown, and he began cursing himself. “Damn it! You know what you’ve said before, no more hugs!” He glanced at the leather wrapped around the staff and took a deep breath. “You remember the last time you hugged a kid, right? How they forgot all about you after they grew up?” He groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Not again…no more heartbreak.”


	5. First Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh mercy me, I am so sorry I'm late with this chapter! That wasn't my intention at all, but the week ended up getting incredibly busy and I only had time to edit the chapter today! So sorry loves, I'll try not to be so late again!
> 
> Please enjoy this belated update!

Jack never thought he’d be so excited to be going back to a place for winter, but Berk had become someplace special. Not only had he made a new friend the first winter, but he had made a second in the form of a dragon that was more cat-like than lizard-like at times. The youngsters saw him as well, and he was pretty sure that guy who worked the forge with Hiccup could see him too, still.

However, there was a small knot of worry in his gut that warred with his excitement. Hiccup had been almost fifteen when he had left him. Would he have grown out of believing in legends of gods and spirits? Would he experience the horrible chill as Hiccup walked through him, unseeing his friend? Or would his faith stay strong?

The feeling stayed with him as the Wind ushered him forward. As he approached Berk there was an immediately noticeable difference. For one thing, the houses looked like they were actually more than just a month or two old. The other thing was the outrageous number of dragons flying around. Even more, there were actual Vikings riding on them! “Whoa…Hiccup must have gotten through to them!” He paused in the air, scratching his head thoughtfully. “So…where’s the fishbone then?” A loud roar from the training arena caught his attention, and he flew over to see what was going on.

The first thing that caught his attention was the large group of young dragons. They weren’t hatchlings, definitely, but not yet full grown. There were kids there too, around eight to ten years old. In front of what was clearly a class was a very familiar head of hair. Jack grinned as he landed on the web of chains over the arena to observe the apparent lesson, the knot of worry starting to relax.

“Now, we’ve gotten you kids used to being around the dragons,” Hiccup said as he paced slowly in front of them. “You’ve been feeding them, washing them, taking out the dragon leavings…” He grinned at the collective groan that came from the youngsters. “I know, I know, nobody likes cleaning up after them. But what have we learned the last two months?”

A girl raised her hand. “Nadders are ticklish just under their wings!”

“Gronckles like volcanic rock to munch on!”

“Scauldrons prefer cool baths to the hot ones!”

“You keep tripping over tails!”

The kids laughed, and even Hiccup chuckled. “Well, that’s what happens when you lose a leg. So don’t do that, kids.”

“What?” Jack squinted down to get a better glimpse, before his eyes widened. “Hiccup!”

The brunet looked up in surprise. A smile threatened to tug at his lips, and he sent a quick wink to the winter spirit before focusing back on the kids, who had luckily been too busy looking at the dragons to notice. “Today, we’re going to be finding which dragon is the right fit for you! Remember, the dragon chooses you, you don’t choose the dragon. So start mingling with them, and let them come to you. After you find your match, you can go home with your dragon. When you start living with them, then you’ll really get connected with them.”

A boy raised his hand. “Why aren’t there any Night Furies though?”

“Yeah, we want to be like you!”

Hiccup laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, we just haven’t seen any Night Furies around here, other than Toothless. Hopefully we’ll find some soon. I’m sure we could use some baby Night Furies flying around.” He paused for a moment. “Or…maybe not.” A ripple of laughter went through the kids. “Alright, get going you kids. I’m going to trust you not to do anything too crazy. And if anyone’s set on fire, you know where the water buckets are.” He left the kids after they all agreed to be careful, still slightly limping but clearly used to the peg leg by then.

Jack hopped down to the arena wall next to the door. “Hic! What the hell did I miss?”

Hiccup grinned up at Jack once he was out of the arena. “You definitely missed a lot! I’d write, but you don’t have a mailbox.”

Jack snorted and jumped down to land next to him. “That’s not the important thing, it’s your leg! Last I saw you it was still a regular leg! What happened to it?”

Hiccup laughed a bit as they headed to an area free of other Vikings. He didn’t need people looking at him funny because he was talking to himself. “Well, a few days after you left I graduated dragon fighting and was supposed to kill a Monstrous Nightmare. I decided not to, but all that did was get my dad to freak out right when I was about to get the Nightmare to trust me. Instead it tried to kill me. When that happened, Toothless managed to get out of the valley and saved me.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “I bet that didn’t go over well with the others.”

“They captured him,” Hiccup said, looking away with something like shame. He clearly didn’t like remembering the experience. “When my dad confronted me about it I let slip about the dragon nest that Astrid and I had found where the biggest dragon I had ever seen lived, it was basically the queen. It was why the dragons were always taking food—they were giving it to the queen, or else they’d be eaten. Thing is, only dragons could find the nest.

“When I let slip that only dragons could find it, Dad said…” He grimaced even more. “He said that because I sided with dragons, I wasn’t a Viking, or his son.”

Jack was silent as he took it in, but the ground beneath him immediately froze. “What happened then?”

Hiccup’s eyes widened. “Nonono, it’s okay now! You don’t have to freeze my dad to death or anything!” _Note to self, don’t piss Jack off._ “Yeah, he took Toothless to find the nest, but then I got my fightmates and taught them how to ride their own dragons. We followed the ships to the nest, where the queen—the Red Death—was fighting everyone. While the others did their best to keep the dragon distracted and also wear it out some, I went to save Toothless. Almost drowned doing so, but Dad actually saved both me and Toothless.” He smiled when he remembered that part. “Dad said he was sorry, and that he was proud to call me his son.”

The tension in Jack’s soldiers melted partly away, but he still looked upset. “He should never have said it in the first place,” he muttered, arms crossed.

Hiccup shrugged. “It’s in the past. Anyway, so Toothless and I got the Red Death up in the air, and even when Toothless’ tail fin got damaged we managed to outfly it and set it on fire from the inside. When it crashed, it kind of exploded. The fin was ripped completely off Toothless’ tail, and without that steering we hit the club tail. I got knocked out. The next thing I knew, I woke up with this.” He lifted his leg up to show off the peg leg. “Dad said Toothless had managed to save most of me, but I guess my leg was broken enough when I hit the tail that the fire damaged it too much where Gobber had to cut it off instead of trying to save it. So now Toothless and I are prosthetic buddies,” he joked with a grin.

Jack still looked unsettled. “But…you mean all that happened after I left?”

Hiccup gave him a sympathetic smile. “Two or three days. But after that, we adopted the dragons as pets. So far, it’s been going really well!”

“So now you’re the dragon trainer for the village?” Jack asked, leaning on his staff. By the way his stance was tense he was still unhappy that he hadn't been there to help protect the shrimp.

Hiccup nodded, crossing his arms. “I’m more training the Vikings than the dragons,” he said with a chuckle. “And stop worrying, I'm _fine_ ," he insisted. "The leg gets sore, but really, it could be worse. I could be dead."

"That's not helping."

"Sorry. I'm liking being the dragon trainer though. It’s been hard, getting them used to actually treating them like family instead of pests. But everyone my age and under has had a much easier time of it than the older generation. It doesn’t help that we can’t find a dragon that’s strong enough for Dad,” he added.

Jack smirked a little, his posture slowly relaxing. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. So anything else going on?”

Hiccup’s ears suddenly turned red and he coughed awkwardly. “Oh, and uh, Astrid kindasortakissedme,” he said quickly.

One silver eyebrow went up and Jack's smirk grew. “Ohh~?”

“It’s not like we’re actually a couple though!” Hiccup hastened to explain, his cheeks now pink. “It’s kind of more like trial sort of? Well, she doesn’t hate me because I was doing better than her in the arena, which is good.”

“Hey, it’s a start!” Jack slung an arm around Hiccup’s shoulders, the action making them both shiver due to their different body temperatures. “And who knows, maybe she will end up your girlfriend.”

Hiccup laughed a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “Maybe. I think I’ll just be happy she’s not threatening to throttle me for beating her at things,” he joked.

“Wait, did she really do that?”

“No, it was more the occasional punch. Come on, I know Toothless missed you. And he has a fancy new tail fin you’ll get a kick out of.”

“How’s the fireball doing?”

“Oh, great! We had to rebuild our house so that he could fit properly though. He’s got his own rock bed and everything.”

“Bet he likes that more than the valley.”

“Yeah, but he’ll still suddenly land when I don’t expect it just so he can roll around in the grass,” Hiccup added with a laugh. “For such big ferocious creatures they turn into hatchlings with things, like with dragon nip.”

“Kinda like how I make big strong Vikings into kids when I start with the snow?” Jack asked with a snicker.

Hiccup grinned. “Just about. Maybe the grass has magic in it too.”

Jack blinked in surprise. “How’d you know my snow’s magical?”

“I’ve seen your special snowflakes, they have a certain sparkle to them. What, did you think I was watching you when you were making it snow?” Hiccup teased with a smirk.

“You weren’t? That hurts.” Jack clutched at his chest in mock pain. “I don’t know if my heart can take it.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “I think you’ll survive your ego being deflated a few notches.”

Jack snickered as they headed to where Toothless was resting on Hiccups’ house’s rooftop. “My ego’s not that bad.”

“I’m pretty sure Bunny would say otherwise.”

“Oh, the talking kangaroo’s just saying that because he’s jealous. I mean, I am the best looking of the Immortals. Well, Toothy’s pretty close, but she’s more cute and excitable than anything else.”

“Ehh, I haven’t seen any of the others so I’ll withhold my judgment.”

“Ahh, I missed your sharp tongue, Hic. You always know how to strike me in the heart.”

“Oh please, you like our witty banter. You’d be bored out of your skull without me. Instead you’d be playing your thoughts in your head to make it echo.”

“I wouldn’t—hey, is that a crack at me being empty headed? Hey get back here, face me like a Viking instead of laughing!”

Toothless perked his head up when the familiar scent of snow-ice-wind reached his nostrils. He stood up and wiggled a little, watching the two boys run toward them. He jumped off and landed precisely on Jack, giving the winter spirit a lick.

“Yuck! Ugh, I did not miss that.”

Toothless laughed his dragon laugh and allowed Jack back up. “Good boy!” Hiccup praised, tickling under the dragon’s chin.

Jack wiped the saliva off and pouted. “Wow, Hic, I feel loved. I guess I’ll just find someone else to give this gift to, someone who actually appreciates me.”

“Gift?” Hiccup looked confused. “Why would you get me a gift?”

Jack turned around, surprised that he even asked. “Because when I saw it, I knew you’d want it.” He took a slim package out from under his cloak and tossed it to the startled Viking. “I asked a little girl in the Far East to get it for me.”

Hiccup looked down at the fabric keeping it wrapped. “What is this stuff? It’s so smooth, like water!”

“It’s called silk. They make it from the cocoons of special worms. You can keep the fabric too, but I think you’ll like what’s in it.” Jack was trying to act nonchalant, but he was bouncing a little on the balls of his feet.

A curious Hiccup carefully undid the ribbons keeping the fabric in place, and when the book was revealed his eyes widened. “Are these more dragons?”

“Yep!” Jack couldn’t restrain his grin any longer. “It’s a guidebook to the different dragons of the Far East! I saw it at a stall in a market and I knew you’d want it! Uh, you do like it, right—oof!” He found himself with an armful of excited and really warm Viking.

“I love it! I knew there were more dragons, this just means I’m going to have to try and go on a trip to see them up close!” Hiccup gave Jack a tight squeeze, which made Jack yelp a bit in surprise. “Oh, did I hurt you?”

“Jeez, Hic, you’re getting stronger!” Jack rubbed his back with a chuckle. The discomfort hugs usually came with wasn’t as harsh as it used to be. “Told ya you’d start packing on muscle.”

Hiccup looked away with a sheepish laugh and pink ears. “Ah, yeah, working with dragons half the day and working at the forge the other half is helping me I guess.”

Jack grinned. “Please, you’re gonna end up a lady killer~” The embarrassed expression on Hiccup’s face only made the spirit laugh, while Toothless was busy nuzzling the new fabric. “But go ahead, you’ll get a kick out of them. Most dragons out east are benevolent, and many of them are intelligent.”

Hiccup opened the book to the first page, seeing a dragon with whiskers and a beard. “I’ve seen many odd dragons, but never ones that have beards,” he said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, most of them do. I dunno, somehow they make the look work. Most humans look funny with the long mustaches like that.” Jack made a snow mustache on himself. “See? I’d look horrible with one!”

Hiccup cracked up. “Oh, get rid of it, it doesn’t suit you at all!”

Jack laughed and brushed the ice crystals off. “I doubt I’ll ever grow a beard or mustache. I think I look better without one though.”

“I’m wondering if I’ll actually get stubble or not, at least,” Hiccup mused as he rubbed his chin. “Nothing yet, but maybe one day I’ll get a really bushy beard like Dad.”

Jack pictured it in his head before bursting into laughter. “You’d look like you have a bush eating your face!”

Hiccup blushed faintly and tried to glare at Jack with crossed arms, but it ended up looking more like a pout. That only sent Jack into more laughter. “It’s not that funny!”

“You’re right, it’s hilarious!”

Hiccup rolled his eyes and shoved Jack lightly. “ _Oflati._ ”

Jack was still chuckling when the term made him blink in confusion. “What does that mean?”

Hiccup simply smirked. “I’ll tell you one day.” He ignored the pout that Jack sent him and scratched Toothless’ head. “It’s good to see you again though, Jack.”

The pout turned into a relaxed smile. “Good to see you again too, Hic.”


End file.
